GoldandBlack.com's 20-year Purdue player draft: Pick No. 47
To help commemorate the 20-year anniversary of Purdue's magical turnaround 1997 season, GoldandBlack.com's staff will break up the rosters and select the best players to wear a Boilermaker uniform since Coach Joe Tiller's first season on the sidelines.
GoldandBlack.com's 20-year Purdue player draft will have 100 players chosen — two picks each weekday over the next 10 weeks. Boilermakers who were on Purdue rosters between 1997-2017 are eligible for selection. The draft order is Alan Karpick, Stacy Clardie, Kyle Charters and Brian Neubert.
Charters goes defense for No. 47 ...
Draft ticker: Nos. 1-46
Brandon Villarreal played a ton during his two years as a Purdue starter in 2004 and '05, barely ever coming off the field.
He'll likely need to do the same on my fantasy team — we have only three backups and I've yet to decide who those will be. Might be "best available" at that point in the draft — and should be productive, too. He was during his career from 2002-2005.
The Texan finished his career with 35 tackles for loss, which still stands as 14th all-time at Purdue. In '04, he had 17.5 TFLs, which is just outside the top-15 in single-season annals. His 11.5 sacks ranks 17th all-time at Purdue.
Villarreal fit the typical mold of Boilermaker defenders of that era: Tough, hard-nosed, high-motor players who maxed out their potential. And I like those guys, probably why my defense is comprised of players from the late-90s to mid-00s. Will I take anyone from the last decade?
I like my defense, but at some point, my secondary is going to need addressed. The problem is separating one cornerback from the next; as long as there are five or six that I consider equals, then I'm not going to pick the position.
Keith Smith at 46? I was hoping he was going to drop and I could scoop him up in the 50s. Darn.
One last thing: Happy birthday to Mr. Villarreal, who gets the gift of being our 47th pick.
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